Free Daddy by Surprise by Debra Salonen

She looked from the bike to Kat to Jack and back to Kat. “I told you I’ve forgiven eBay for screwing up Libby’s original ad, right? I mean, why not? It all worked out. And it was partly Lib’s fault for thinking she could post an ad without naming an exact dollar figure.”
    Kat hadn’t really paid much attention to Libby’s original ad, which had been responsible for bringing her plight to Cooper’s attention, but she did know that Char listed a great many items on the online auction site. “I guess…Um, Char, this is Jack…” Her mind went blank.
    “Treadwell,” Jack supplied. “Nice to meet you.”
    They shook hands. “He’s from Denver. I’m showing him around the Hills.”
    One of Char’s dramatically arched eyebrows lifted. “Starting in Sentinel Pass?”
    “Yeah,” Kat said, standing her ground. “That’s the point, isn’t it? All the hype about the TV show is supposed to bring tourists in. Jack’s a tourist. He wanted to see the place. Right?”
    Jack’s enigmatic gray eyes were glinting with humor, but he nodded gamely. “I especially want to see the famous lovers.”
    Char’s explosion of laughter nearly made her drop her fistful of mail. “Which pair? We’ve got two, you know. This love thing seems to be catching. Might be something in the water. Which is why I drink wine.”
    Kat rolled her eyes. They’d had this discussion before. Char had made it clear she didn’t believe in love, despite her addiction to romance novels. “Libby and Jenna aren’t back yet, are they?”
    Char shook her head. “I’m picking Jenna up at the airport on Sunday. She said she tried to call you last night and didn’t get an answer. Libby and Coop are flying home later. He didn’t want her traveling without him. I don’t know why. She’s pregnant, not an invalid.”
    Kat knew why. Neither of her exes—or anyone else in her family—had ever worried about her like that, but then, nobody had ever loved her the way Cooper loved Libby. Which probably wasn’t surprising. To be loved, first you had to be seen for who you really were.
    “Kat?”
    Kat blinked, glancing from Jack to Char. “Huh? Sorry. Zoned out for a minute. I was…um…trying to map out our next stop.” Liar.
    “I told Jack if he’s still here on the tenth, Cooper is throwing a big party for the town. Everyone is invited.”
    Libby had mentioned something about a whole-town celebration since their wedding had been so small and rushed to dodge media intrusion. “I didn’t know they set a date. Lib said they wanted to coordinate it around the Sentinel Pass filming.”
    Char shrugged as if that part of the deal didn’t interest her in the least. “How’s Jordie?”
    “Good. I think he’s in love with you.”
    Char kicked her beautifully beaded moccasin against the base of Seymour’s pedestal. “He’s the sweetest kid I’ve ever known. If I had a kid, I’d want him to be just like Jordan.”
    Kat heard a funny catch in her friend’s voice, but before she could give it more thought, a horn honked behind them. Char pivoted like a dancer and gracefully loped to the large, dusty four-wheel-drive truck that sat double-parked on Main Street.
    “Don’t you people work for a living?” the driver hollered good-naturedly through the open passenger window.
    Char hopped up on the running board. Kat couldn’t make out their conversation, so she turned to Jack. “That’s Mac. Libby’s brother. He and Lib own the Little Poke gold mine, which is going to be one of the spots the film crew plans to use locally.”
    Jack looked puzzled. “That truck looks like it’s on its last leg. I thought gold was worth a lot of money right now.”
    “I think you’re right, but it also costs a fortune to get it out of the ground. Are you interested in mines? I could ask Mac to give you a tour.”
    He shook his head. “Naw. That’s okay. Dark tunnels don’t really appeal to me.”
    Her, neither. But she couldn’t help thinking that his